Demographics of British Bangladeshis - Bangladeshi Students

Bangladeshi Students

Increasing numbers of students from Bangladesh are arriving to Britain since at least 2002. Prior to 2001, the United States was the primary destination for those students who sought undergraduate or postgraduate degrees abroad. Since the September 11 attacks, however, the difficulty of obtaining a US student visa, has forced many Bangladeshi students to seek alternative locations, in particular Australia, Canada and the UK. The total number of incoming students is currently estimated to be around 2,000-3,000 per annum. Most of these students come from urban locations such as Dhaka and Chittagong. The vast majority chooses London as their primary base, not least because of the ease of finding paid work to finance their education and living costs. A network of colleges - known as visa colleges - has taken root in East London, in order to cater to these students, often established and run by Bangladeshi proprietors. These students are heavily concentrated in east London boroughs where majority of Bangladeshi Sylhetis have settled. Besides their studies, they can be found working a variety of low-skilled, low-paid jobs. The UK government's decision to encourage foreign students to stay and work in Britain after their studies, has resulted in many of these students settling in Britain, particularly graduates working in 'shortage sectors' such as science and technology. This is likely to increase the diversity of the British Bangladeshi population in coming years.